Friday, February 11
Waco, Texas
2 PM
Baylor
4
vs
1
Tulsa
No. 3 MT Bests Tulsa 4-1, Looks to No. 7 Virginia
2/11/2022 6:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Bears face Cavaliers on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hawkins Indoor
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Overcoming a shaky start in singles, the third-ranked Baylor men (10-0) defeated Tulsa, 4-1, Friday afternoon at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
Pushed on every court, the Bears pulled out a couple first-set tiebreakers and got straight-set wins from Adrian Boitan, Sven Lah and Tadeas Paroulek to beat the Golden Hurricane (4-3) for the fifth time in their last six meetings.
"We knew it was going to be hard in singles, and I just felt like our body language wasn't as strong," said Baylor head coach Michael Woodson, whose team will face No. 7 Virginia (5-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday. "Not so much that we weren't energetic, but that we showed a little bit of frustration. They got under our skin a little bit at a few spots and really exposed us."
That included Paroulek, who was playing in the singles lineup for just the second time. Facing the reigning AAC Player of the Week, Paroulek came back from an early deficit, dominated the tiebreaker and then cruised through the second set to beat Callum Gale, 7-6(1), 6-2, to clinch the match.
"He's coming back from a shoulder injury, and he's definitely ready and playing well," Woodson said of the sophomore transfer from TCU. "I think he showed a little bit too much negativity, but . . . he did a good job to get over the hump in the first set and then ran away with it in the second."
Much like they did in Monday's 6-1 win over then-No. 9 Texas, the Bears got out to big leads on two of the three doubles courts. Only this time, they shut that door quickly and didn't give Tulsa a chance to rally.
Matias Soto and Juampi Mazzuchi rolled through Gale and Adham Gaber, 6-0, on Court 2, then Paroulek and Adrian Boitan clinched the opening point with a 6-2 win over Daniel Siddall and Tom Thelwall-Jones at No. 3.
"I thought we did a really nice job coming out in doubles, setting the tone, getting some big leads," Woodson said. "We played really well in doubles."
The Golden Hurricane won two of the six first sets in singles, but also forced first-set tiebreakers at Nos. 1 and 6 and had some momentum going into second-set tiebreakers at Nos. 2 and 4.
Coming off a 4-3 win over 18th-ranked Pepperdine, Tulsa actually had a path to four when Connor Di Marco tied the score at 1-1 with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Baylor's Finn Bass at No. 5. But, momentum switched back in favor of the Bears when Boitan, Lah and Paroulek all took multi-break leads.
"That was the (angriest) I've seen our guys all year," Woodson said. "We need to see that and how contagious that can be on all courts. We did a great job to stretch some leads in the second set. Adrian's got a little bit tighter, but won by a couple of breaks on three courts to really kind of shut the door on them."
Lah got the Bears' next point on the board, beating Stefan Hampe, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 3, then Boitan broke Kody Pearson to finish off a 7-6(4), 6-3 win at No. 1.
With Soto down a set and going to a tiebreaker in the second set against 86th-ranked Ezequiel Santalla at No. 2 and Marko Miladinovic splitting sets with Gaber at No. 4, Paroulek was able to end any potential drama and get Baylor's clinching fourth point with the win over Gale on Court 6.
"There were some tough moments, it was a really close set, but I got the point," Paroulek said. "I started strong and I kept serving big, started playing better and faster, and he slowed down."
Virginia, coming off a 4-0 loss to now-No. 1 Ohio State, has a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series with Baylor and defeated the Bears, 4-2, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament semifinals in Waco. Like Baylor, the Cavaliers will be at the ITA National Indoor Championship next week in Seattle.
WACO, Texas – The No. 3 Baylor men's tennis team bested Tulsa on Friday afternoon in the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, winning 4-1.
The Bears improve their record to 10-0 for the season with the win over the Golden Hurricane (4-3) who is receiving votes in the most recent ITA poll.
In doubles, Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi finished first with a clean 6-0 match over Adham Gaber/Callum Gale on court two. Court three finished next to clinch the doubles point, with Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek winning 6-2 over Daniel Siddall/Tom Thelwall-Jones. No. 12-ranked doubles pair Finn Bass and Sven Lah were up 4-3 on court one when the match went unfinished. Bass and Lah remain 6-1 in dual matches, while Grassi Mazzuchi and Soto are 7-0, and the pairing of Boitan and Paroulek improve to 5-0.
On the singles side, Tulsa was the first to grab a point as Hurricane Connor Di Marco bested Bass on court five, 7-5, 6-0. No. 123 Sven Lah put BU up at 2-0 with his win over Stefan Hampe, 7-5, 6-2 on court three. Boitan won on court one against Kody Pearson, 7-6(4), 6-3 to make it 3-1 overall. It was No. 39 Paroulek who clinched the match for Baylor after clinching the doubles point with Boitan, this time winning 7-6(1), 6-2 over Gale on court six. Marko Miladinović was in a superset tiebreaker with Gaber at 6-1, 6-7(2), 1-0 on court four when the point was clinched. Soto's match also went unfinished in a tiebreaker on court two at 4-6, 6-6(1-2) with No. 86 Ezequiel Santalla.
Boitan is now at 8-0 in singles, Bass at 7-1, Lah at 5-1, Soto at 5-0 and Miladinović at 4-0, while Paroulek is now 2-0.
QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
"I think we learned a ton today. We knew they were going to be difficult, a really good indoor team, plays their best tennis in these conditions. They really pushed us. I thought we did a really nice job coming out in doubles, setting the tone, getting some big leads. We know we need to be better tomorrow, but to make sure we bring our best stuff day in and day out."
QUOTABLE – Sophomore Tadeas Paroulek
On his singles match
"There were some tough moments [today], it was a really close set, but I got the point. I started strong and I kept serving big, started playing better and faster and he slowed down."
On the team
"We're playing the best teams we've played so far. It's going to be a challenge for us but we will do our best."
The Bears now face No. 7 Virginia on Saturday, with the match set for 2 p.m. at Hawkins Indoor.
LOOKING AT VIRGINIA
Virginia leads the series 9-5 over Baylor, with two of the last three matchups being wins for the Bears. The two have not met since 2015.
The No. 7-ranked Cavaliers (5-1) come to Waco after falling 4-0 to then-No. 5 Ohio State on Sunday, their first loss of the season. UVA had only dropped one point to an opponent before the loss to the Buckeyes, winning 6-1 over Harvard in January. They swept Georgia Tech and Ball State in their ITA Kickoff Weekend matches. Virginia is also headed to the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, Washington, which will take place from Feb. 18-21. Draws have not yet been set.
The match will be live streamed on PlaySight and can be viewed here, while live scoring can be found here.
Full recaps and final stats will be uploaded to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of play.
There is a free t-shirt giveaway as well as free Tiff's Treats on a first come, first serve basis at the match with the Cavaliers.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor men's tennis, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorMTennis.
TENNIS RESULTS
#3 Baylor (4) vs. RV Tulsa (1)
Waco, Texas – Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. Adrian Boitan (BU) def. Kody Pearson (TLS) 7-6(4), 6-3
2. Matias Soto (BU) vs. #86 Ezequiel Santalla (TLS) 4-6, 6-6(1-2) unfinished
3. #123 Sven Lah (BU) def. Stefan Hampe (TLS) 7-5, 6-2
4. Marko Miladinović (BU) vs. Adham Gaber (TLS) 6-1, 6-7(2), 1-0 unfinished
5. Connor Di Marco (TLS) def. Finn Bass (BU) 7-5, 6-0
6. #39 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Callum Gale (TLS) 7-6(1), 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 6
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #12 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) vs. Connor Di Marco/Kody Pearson (TLS) 4-3 unfinished
2. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) def. Adham/Gaber/Callum Gale (TLS) 6-0
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Daniel Siddall/Tom Thelwall-Jones (TLS) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3
- BaylorBears.com -
Baylor Bear Insider
Overcoming a shaky start in singles, the third-ranked Baylor men (10-0) defeated Tulsa, 4-1, Friday afternoon at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
Pushed on every court, the Bears pulled out a couple first-set tiebreakers and got straight-set wins from Adrian Boitan, Sven Lah and Tadeas Paroulek to beat the Golden Hurricane (4-3) for the fifth time in their last six meetings.
"We knew it was going to be hard in singles, and I just felt like our body language wasn't as strong," said Baylor head coach Michael Woodson, whose team will face No. 7 Virginia (5-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday. "Not so much that we weren't energetic, but that we showed a little bit of frustration. They got under our skin a little bit at a few spots and really exposed us."
That included Paroulek, who was playing in the singles lineup for just the second time. Facing the reigning AAC Player of the Week, Paroulek came back from an early deficit, dominated the tiebreaker and then cruised through the second set to beat Callum Gale, 7-6(1), 6-2, to clinch the match.
"He's coming back from a shoulder injury, and he's definitely ready and playing well," Woodson said of the sophomore transfer from TCU. "I think he showed a little bit too much negativity, but . . . he did a good job to get over the hump in the first set and then ran away with it in the second."
Much like they did in Monday's 6-1 win over then-No. 9 Texas, the Bears got out to big leads on two of the three doubles courts. Only this time, they shut that door quickly and didn't give Tulsa a chance to rally.
Matias Soto and Juampi Mazzuchi rolled through Gale and Adham Gaber, 6-0, on Court 2, then Paroulek and Adrian Boitan clinched the opening point with a 6-2 win over Daniel Siddall and Tom Thelwall-Jones at No. 3.
"I thought we did a really nice job coming out in doubles, setting the tone, getting some big leads," Woodson said. "We played really well in doubles."
The Golden Hurricane won two of the six first sets in singles, but also forced first-set tiebreakers at Nos. 1 and 6 and had some momentum going into second-set tiebreakers at Nos. 2 and 4.
Coming off a 4-3 win over 18th-ranked Pepperdine, Tulsa actually had a path to four when Connor Di Marco tied the score at 1-1 with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Baylor's Finn Bass at No. 5. But, momentum switched back in favor of the Bears when Boitan, Lah and Paroulek all took multi-break leads.
"That was the (angriest) I've seen our guys all year," Woodson said. "We need to see that and how contagious that can be on all courts. We did a great job to stretch some leads in the second set. Adrian's got a little bit tighter, but won by a couple of breaks on three courts to really kind of shut the door on them."
Lah got the Bears' next point on the board, beating Stefan Hampe, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 3, then Boitan broke Kody Pearson to finish off a 7-6(4), 6-3 win at No. 1.
With Soto down a set and going to a tiebreaker in the second set against 86th-ranked Ezequiel Santalla at No. 2 and Marko Miladinovic splitting sets with Gaber at No. 4, Paroulek was able to end any potential drama and get Baylor's clinching fourth point with the win over Gale on Court 6.
"There were some tough moments, it was a really close set, but I got the point," Paroulek said. "I started strong and I kept serving big, started playing better and faster, and he slowed down."
Virginia, coming off a 4-0 loss to now-No. 1 Ohio State, has a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series with Baylor and defeated the Bears, 4-2, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament semifinals in Waco. Like Baylor, the Cavaliers will be at the ITA National Indoor Championship next week in Seattle.
WACO, Texas – The No. 3 Baylor men's tennis team bested Tulsa on Friday afternoon in the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, winning 4-1.
The Bears improve their record to 10-0 for the season with the win over the Golden Hurricane (4-3) who is receiving votes in the most recent ITA poll.
In doubles, Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi finished first with a clean 6-0 match over Adham Gaber/Callum Gale on court two. Court three finished next to clinch the doubles point, with Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek winning 6-2 over Daniel Siddall/Tom Thelwall-Jones. No. 12-ranked doubles pair Finn Bass and Sven Lah were up 4-3 on court one when the match went unfinished. Bass and Lah remain 6-1 in dual matches, while Grassi Mazzuchi and Soto are 7-0, and the pairing of Boitan and Paroulek improve to 5-0.
On the singles side, Tulsa was the first to grab a point as Hurricane Connor Di Marco bested Bass on court five, 7-5, 6-0. No. 123 Sven Lah put BU up at 2-0 with his win over Stefan Hampe, 7-5, 6-2 on court three. Boitan won on court one against Kody Pearson, 7-6(4), 6-3 to make it 3-1 overall. It was No. 39 Paroulek who clinched the match for Baylor after clinching the doubles point with Boitan, this time winning 7-6(1), 6-2 over Gale on court six. Marko Miladinović was in a superset tiebreaker with Gaber at 6-1, 6-7(2), 1-0 on court four when the point was clinched. Soto's match also went unfinished in a tiebreaker on court two at 4-6, 6-6(1-2) with No. 86 Ezequiel Santalla.
Boitan is now at 8-0 in singles, Bass at 7-1, Lah at 5-1, Soto at 5-0 and Miladinović at 4-0, while Paroulek is now 2-0.
QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
"I think we learned a ton today. We knew they were going to be difficult, a really good indoor team, plays their best tennis in these conditions. They really pushed us. I thought we did a really nice job coming out in doubles, setting the tone, getting some big leads. We know we need to be better tomorrow, but to make sure we bring our best stuff day in and day out."
QUOTABLE – Sophomore Tadeas Paroulek
On his singles match
"There were some tough moments [today], it was a really close set, but I got the point. I started strong and I kept serving big, started playing better and faster and he slowed down."
On the team
"We're playing the best teams we've played so far. It's going to be a challenge for us but we will do our best."
The Bears now face No. 7 Virginia on Saturday, with the match set for 2 p.m. at Hawkins Indoor.
LOOKING AT VIRGINIA
Virginia leads the series 9-5 over Baylor, with two of the last three matchups being wins for the Bears. The two have not met since 2015.
The No. 7-ranked Cavaliers (5-1) come to Waco after falling 4-0 to then-No. 5 Ohio State on Sunday, their first loss of the season. UVA had only dropped one point to an opponent before the loss to the Buckeyes, winning 6-1 over Harvard in January. They swept Georgia Tech and Ball State in their ITA Kickoff Weekend matches. Virginia is also headed to the ITA Indoor Championships in Seattle, Washington, which will take place from Feb. 18-21. Draws have not yet been set.
The match will be live streamed on PlaySight and can be viewed here, while live scoring can be found here.
Full recaps and final stats will be uploaded to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of play.
There is a free t-shirt giveaway as well as free Tiff's Treats on a first come, first serve basis at the match with the Cavaliers.
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor men's tennis, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorMTennis.
TENNIS RESULTS
#3 Baylor (4) vs. RV Tulsa (1)
Waco, Texas – Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. Adrian Boitan (BU) def. Kody Pearson (TLS) 7-6(4), 6-3
2. Matias Soto (BU) vs. #86 Ezequiel Santalla (TLS) 4-6, 6-6(1-2) unfinished
3. #123 Sven Lah (BU) def. Stefan Hampe (TLS) 7-5, 6-2
4. Marko Miladinović (BU) vs. Adham Gaber (TLS) 6-1, 6-7(2), 1-0 unfinished
5. Connor Di Marco (TLS) def. Finn Bass (BU) 7-5, 6-0
6. #39 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Callum Gale (TLS) 7-6(1), 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 6
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #12 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) vs. Connor Di Marco/Kody Pearson (TLS) 4-3 unfinished
2. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) def. Adham/Gaber/Callum Gale (TLS) 6-0
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Daniel Siddall/Tom Thelwall-Jones (TLS) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Kody Pearson / 0 [TLS]
63
76
#2 Singles Match
123
Ezequiel Santalla / 0 (86/-) [TLS]
660
46UF
#3 Singles Match
12
Stefan Hampe / 0 [TLS]
52
76
#4 Singles Match
1234
Adham Gaber / 0 [TLS]
1700
661UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Connor Di Marco / 0 [TLS]
76
50
#6 Singles Match
12
Callum Gale / 0 [TLS]
62
76
Order of Finish:
5,3,1,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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